烤火 (kǎo huǒ) — to warm oneself by a fire (e.g., by a stove or fireplace)

Definition

烤火 means to warm oneself by sitting near a fire, stove, or other heat source. In Chinese homes, it also describes the everyday winter activity of gathering around a brazier (炉子) for warmth and conversation.

verb
to warm oneself by a fire (e.g., by a stove or fireplace)

Examples

  • 烤火。
    Dōng tiān wǒ xǐ huan zài lú zi páng biān kǎo huǒ.
    In winter I like to warm myself by the stove.
  • 。
    Wǒ men zài huǒ duī páng kǎo le yí huì r huǒ.
    We warmed ourselves by the campfire for a while.
  • 烤火，。
    Tā zuò zài nà lǐ kǎo huǒ, kàn qǐ lái hěn nuǎn huo.
    He sat there warming himself by the fire, looking very warm.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

烤kǎowarm by fire
火huǒfire

'烤' means warm by fire and '火' means fire, so the word describes warming oneself by a fire.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
火火huǒ
Sound part声符shēngfú
考
考kǎo烤kǎo
Same sound today

烤 pairs 火 (fire) with 考, which supplies the sound; the fire part is used because the meaning involves heat or roasting.

Open 烤 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

火 is a simple drawing of a fire, with flames shown rising upward.

Open 火 →

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